Ember: The other hidden village of Fire Country
by Stanislas
Summary: There's always been only one Hidden Ninja Village per country, right? But it isn't like there's a divine law that says it should be so. What if a ninja from Kononha, sick of civilian and clan politics, decided he'd be better off founding his own village, just around the time the Kyuubi atacked? How will this affect Naruto and the world? Swearing, violance, and lot of OCs. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Hello readers!

Ok. I have been writing a story based on Code Geass, but it's not going very well right now. I've got a major writers block. So, I've ended up in the Naruto Section. One ting lead to another in my mind, and this is the result.

So, basically, this story will explore what could possibly happen if a second ninja village was created in the Fire Country around the time of the Kyuubi attack, and is composed of survivors from Whirlpool country and the Uzumaki Clan, along with a sizeable number of ninja misfits from pretty much all around the place. Warning: OCs galore!

Note: This won't be a god-mode-Naruto fic. Also, I'll try to portray the non-OCs as close to canon as I can.

Anyway, that's about it, I guess. Read on guys!

I don't own nothing related to Naruto.

* * *

**The day that the Kyuudi attacked Konoha, Kazan County, Eastern coast of Fire Country**

"This is the place! It'll be perfect!"

Toushi Kasei *, the man that just spoke, was standing arms crossed near the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast expanse of grain fields. Behind him and on either sides, there was a large number of people.

He was well over seven feet tall and had a muscular frame. He had orange irises, and long, spiky red hair, which in the back was held in a pony-tail and reached past his waist. He wore a Konoha headband with a red sash. On his shoulder, he had a great orange Trench Coat, which for now he wore as a cape, and the wind was making it billow behind him. Under hat, he had a dark red shirt, over which was a black jounin vest. He also had a black, plated finger-less glove on each arm, and he wore black cargo pants and black ninja sandals. Strapped across his back with a brown belt was a large, single-edged sword.

For many years, Toushi had been a Jounin under the Third Hokage. His father had been one of the commanders of the Konohan ninjas during the third ninja wars. Toushi himself had distinguished himself early on, by his skills and his indomitable will to get the job done and to never give up, no matter how insurmountable the odds might be.

But, after his father's dismissal, which was a result of council politics more than anything else, he had started to doubts Konoha. As great as the village was, it had quite a past, and many episodes in it were less than glamorous. That, and he civilian council was a pain in the ass. Thus, an idea started forming: Why should Konoha be the only village in fire country? Why should it, alone, have monopoly on the 'will of fire'?

It had been a long road, but he gathered people, money, and just enough connections. And not too long ago, he had finally received the full approval and backing of the Fire Daimyo to create the _village hidden in Embers_.

Thus, that led him to where he was right now: One that cliff, looking straight ahead, right towards a chain of now-very-active volcanoes in the distance. The spitting of smoke, lava, and ash didn't seem to frighten him in the least, nor was the constant rumbling and intermittent shaking. On the contrary, it seemed to make him even more 'pumped', so to speak. However, many amongst the crowd of people around him seemed less at ease.

"Herrr, you sure about that, Toushi-san?" A man came up to him. His name was Jillian Saki He was much shorter than Toushi, being barely 5 feet six inches. His complexion was a dark tanned brown, he had dark brown eyes and light blond hair. He had a large Katana slung across his back in the same fashion as Toushi. He didn't wore any Headband.

"Yes, Jillian, I'm sure of it." Toushi said. "Now more than ever, in fact! What better to represent he will of Fire than bloody volcanoes? Not just a couple either, but dozens!"

Jillian sighed, shook his head, and then finally smiled. "I guess you're right." He said. " And it _does_ look like this is a safe spot."

"That's why my wife's grandfather built his castle over there." Toushi said, pointing behind him with his thumb.

Indeed, a distance behind them and above another, lower cliff, there it was, Shibumi Castle. It was a huge complex, with deep red tiled roofs and round concentric walls. Its current lord, or rather lady, was Isaoy Shibumi, who at that moment broke out of the crowd and headed towards her husband.

She was almost exactly six feet tall, had an athletic body and a pale complexion. She had long auburn hair that was held together in a high ponytail, and had pulpiless, burgundy eyes. She wore a rather simple red tunic that reached down to her knees, over a grey shirt and a pair of white pants. She had green ninja sandals, and instead of a headband, she had a green belt with a buckle engraved with the Konoha leaf symbol. She had what looked like a staff strapped across her back. In her arms, she was carrying a one year old girl with the same hair and eyes as her.

She was one of the very few ninjas in the elemental nations that also held land and title. She was a countess, and as such was just under the Daimyo in the fire nation's hierarchy, but she was even wealthier than him, her lands being especially rich thanks to the chain of volcanoes they were named after.

"I spoke with the villages' elders," Isaoy said, "and they say that with proper precautions, this shouldn't adversely affect the founding of our village. It's our luck that the last harvest was particularly bountiful. "

"'This', hun?" Another man said, also coming out of the crowd. He was a little under six feet tall, had short, spiky red hair and green eyes. He wore round glasses and a headband with the Whirlpool symbol. The rest of his clothes were pretty ordinary, except for his beige jacket, which had a large panda face on the back. His name was Toshiro Uzumaki, and he was the leader of the survivor of the Uzumaki clan, it's clanhead, and one of the two surviving sealmaster of that clan.

"Yo, Toshiro!" Jillian said. "Been playing detective again?"

"Not really. I've just overheard some of the villager's discussions. They're saying that these eruptions are happening too soon after the last ones. What do you think, lady Shibumi?"

"They're right." Isaoy said. "Usually, there's a cycle of twenty to twenty-two years in-between eruptions like these. The last one was only 12 years ago."

"That's what's being said." Toshiro nodded. "Also, I've overheard that the only recorded time the cycle was broken was-"

"-was when Mandara Uchia summoned the Kyuubi during the battle at the Valey of the End." Isaoy finished.

"…Am I the only one who had really bad feeling just now?" Jillian said.

"No, you're not." Toushi said darkly. "And, what coincidence, Tomato-chan is due to give birth anytime now. Tosh, didn't you say the seal holding the fur ball at bay would weaken during labor?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes. But I've informed The Third and Fourth Hokage on this, and they assured me that precautions would be taken. I've offered to stay just in case, but they said I should be with my clan."

"Hmmmm." Toushi said. "Just to be safe, let's send a message to Konoha to see how they're doing."

Just at that moment, a large cloud of smoke exploded in their midst. When it dissipated, a cat sized yellow toad appeared.

"Waow!" The toad said, "Things look pretty intense here too."

"Yo, Gamachibi!" Jillian said, crouching down to the toad's height. "Perfect timing!"

"Sorry, no time to chat." The toad turned towards Toushi, and handed him a scroll. "This is an urgent message from Minato."

Toushi took the scroll, and opened it. As he read it and took in the content, his eyes went wide.

"Haaaaaa, shit!" He swore. "What the fuck are these fucking fuckers back in Konoha doing!" He handed the scroll to Toshiro.

"I think they're regretting not having you around just about now, tosh." Toushi said. "Somehow, the Kyuubi as broken free, and is set to reduce the village to a pile of firewood. And of course, Minato is asking us to go and help them deal with the furball."

"Your response?" The toad asked.

"Of course we're going!" Toushi bellowed. "Jillian, Toshiro, get the Brigade together, we leave in five minutes."

"Aye!" both men chorused.

He then turned to Izaoy and their daughter, Yui "As much as I'd like to have to have you watching my back, I need you to here to keep things properly organized."

"I understand. Do be careful, you hear? I wouldn't want our daughters to grow up without a father."

"Hey, you know you don't even need to… Wait, did you just say 'daughter_s_'?"

"Yes." Isaoy said, putting a hand on her stomach.

Toushi blinked a few times, then started to pull on his hair in frustration.

"Couldn't you have waited until I came back from our 'fox hunt' to tell me this?"

"You aren't happy?" Isaoy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No! I'm overjoyed!" he yelled. " But there is a time and place for such things, and now and here," he pointed his finger at the ground, "definitely wasn't it! I'm going to have other things to worry about! Gaaaaaaaaah!"

In her mother's arms, Yui laughed at her father's antics.

"Look, even Yui-chan thinks you're acting like an idiot."

"No she isn't!"

"Ho, just shut up and give me a kiss." Isaoy said. Toushi did so. After they broke up the short kiss, he bent down to Yui's level.

"Daddy's got to go and help some of his friends, but he'll be back soon enough. You be a good girl while I'm away, alright?"

Yui nodded. "Good girl." Toushi said, patting her head, then he started running off to where his rag-tag band of ninjas were assembling. After getting to a short distance, however, he turned around. "When I get back, we'll start thinking about a name for Yui's sister!" After that, he dashed off for good.

* * *

After getting his crack team of badasses together, Toushi and his men departed. As they dashed through the woods in great hurry, many of them thought the same thing: Would they get to Konoha in time to make a difference? Or would they arrive there to find the Village Hidden in the Leaves nothing more than a pile of ruins?

* * *

**Well, this is it for chapter 1!**

**Please let me know what you think in a review!**

***Toushi: either Fighting Will, or Fighter. Kasei: Fire Born. SO the guy's full name either means Fire Born Fighter or Fire Born Fighting Will. Pretty badass if you ask me :P**

**See you guys around!**

**-Stan**


	2. Chapter 2

**As expected from the section with 300-k fics, my itty-bitty chapy got quite a bit of attention. **

**Anyway, let's move right on to the story. **

**As always, I don't own anything related to Naruto. **

* * *

As Toushi and his men got to within an hour's distance from Konoha, they began to feel what could only be the Kyuubi: it was an intense, hateful and burning sensation. When they were around half an hour from the Village, they felt another Aura: An incredibly heavy, cold, and dreadful feeling, from something definitely not of this world.

"Waow!" Jillian said not stopping. "Is that also from the Kyuubi?"

"I have no idea!" Toushi answered. "What about you, Tosh?"

Toshiro had, in fact, a very good idea about what that feeling might be coming from. He had never summoned HIM before, or present when someone else did, but he and his uncle Daichi had taught Minato how to summon the Lord of Death, as part of a last resort measure to seal up the chakra of a tailed beast.

"_Are you really that desperate, Minato?" _He thought. "Toushi!" He then said to his best friend. "I'm going to go on ahead! If I'm right, it may be too late, but I got to at least try to get there!"

"You're going to use 'him', huh?" Toushi said. "Well, what are you waiting for!? Go!"

Toshiro took out a scroll from his jacket, unrolled it to the right register, then prickled his right thumb to draw blood, and spread it on the paper. In a puff of smoke, an oversized humanoid-panda, wearing a male kimono with a tan top and black pants, appeared overhead, floating in the air. It had two large fans on his back, and the symbol for wind on the back of his haori.

"Need to fly somewhere?" It asked in a slightly gruff voice.

"Yes, Kaze-kun." Toshiro said, jumping on its back. "To Konoha! And as fast as you can, please!"

"For you, Uzumaki-san, no problem." The Kaze said, and, just like that, _took off! _The group had been moving pretty fast in term of ninja speed, but the oversized panda left them in the dust, trees creaking, and leaves getting blown away as it flew over the tree tops.

"Showoff!" Jillian yelled.

* * *

It only took Toshiro four minutes to reach the place where he had last sensed the Nine-tail. But by then, he couldn't feel the Kyuubi's chakra in the vicinity anymore. All things considered, that was a good thing, but at what cost had the Kyuubi been resealed, or driven off?

He landed in a huge, newly made clearing. Blocks of rocks, piles of upturned earth and broken tree trunks where everywhere. Nothing was heard, except the cries of an infant. As he stepped on the ground, he unsummoned Kaze. Soon after, he was accosted by a pair of Konoha AMBU.

"This is a restricted area, Uzumaki –san. No one is to enter." One of them said.

"By whose orders?"

"Those of the Third." The other one said.

"What of the Fourth? What happened to Minato?"

None of the AMBUs answered. Then, in the middle of the clearing, Toshiro saw the Third's familiar figure, in his ninja gear, hunched over something, and surrounded by a number of AMBUs.

"Sarutobi!" Toshiro yelled on the top of his lungs. That seemed to get the man's attention. The Third signaled one of the ninjas around him, and another AMBU appeared near Toshiro.

"The Third wants to speak with you, Uzumaki-san." The _woman _said.

"I'm sure he does." Toshiro answered. The two AMBUs that had stopped him stepped aside, and Toshiro followed the third one. The infant's cries got louder as they got closer, and as they neared the Third Hokage, the Seal-master could see that he was holding the baby in his arms, and the elderly man had on his face what could be best described as a distressed look. It quickly became apparent as to why: A few feet from where the third was standing lay the bodies of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Toshiro didn't even need to check them to know they were dead, the gaping hole both had in their stomach, and the massive amount of blood around them told the whole story.

"By all the Gods…" Toshiro whispered, staring at the scene. He then shifted his eyes to the infant Sarutobi was holding, and as he suspected, he saw the obvious seal on the baby's stomach.

"Is that Kushina's…?"

The Third didn't answer in words, he just nodded. After a few moments, he spoke. "How far is Kasei?"

"…He should be here in about twenty minutes." Toshiro answered. "He's got his whole Brigade with him." The he cursed under his breath. "Lot of good it's going to do now. I should have gone ahead way earlier."

The Third sighed. "It's useless to dwell on the past." He said. "Right now, we've got to concentrate on how we're going to deal with all of this. And what to do with the boy."

Toshiro nodded. Just then, the radio he was carrying on his belt crackled to life.

"_Tosh!"_ Toushi's voice came from the device. _"Have you reached the village? We can't feel the furball anymore! What the situation!?"_

Toshiro took up the radio, and pressed the send button. "The Kyuubi's been… taken care of. As for the situation, well…"

Sarutobi motioned for Toshiro to hand him the radio, which he did. "Kasei, this is the Third. It's of outmost importance that you meet me at the Hokage Tower as soon as you get here. We've got to talk."

"_What the hell!? Why would I want to talk with __**you**__? What happened to Minato!?"_

"He's dead." Sarutobi deadpanned. " So is Kushina."

"…_Ho shit."_

* * *

"_This village is fucked." _Was what Toushi though as he made his way towards the Hokage Tower trough the debris. Not only a good one fourth of the village had been flattened, but hundreds had killed, and countless more had been injured, civilian and ninja alike. Building could be rebuilt with relative ease. Lives, however…

And to add to that, the one person Konoha would have most needed right now, their leader and greatest hero, the one man they looked to for guidance, was dead.

"_This village is sooooooo fucked!"_

On the way to the tower, he had sent Jillian and a couple of his guys to look for his brother, Suzaku, whom had been in the village during the attack. One of the AMBU said he had been transported to the Hospital following his collapse due to severe chakra depletion. Hopefully, he's still alive. It was enough that his father died in protecting this village, he and his mother sure didn't need to bury another family member for the same reason.

He eventually made his way to the tower, and he made his way up to the Hokage's office. When he opened the door to the room and stepped in, he was greeted by two sights: the first one, highly expected, was that of the Third, still in combat gear, sitting behind his old desk, and smoking like a god-damned chimney. The second one, highly _un_expected, was of Toshiro bottle-feeding a blonde baby that was wrapped-up in his jacket.

Turning to Sarutobi, Toushi simply couldn't resist. "You know, it's very unhealthy for young children to inhale second-hand tobacco smoke."

The Third gave Toushi a glance that clearly suggested he didn't give a damn about that right now.

Toushi just grinned, went to Toshiro, and then gave the baby his friend was holding a good look.

"So that's Kushina's son, huh?"

Sarutobi nodded, then he turned to the Uzumaki Sealmaster. "Toushi-kun, could you please make sure that what we're about to discus stays between us?"

"Of course!"

He passed along the boy, who had finished his bottle, to Toushi, and began working on a sealing jutsu. As he was doing so, the boy had opened his eyes, and was staring silently at Toushi, who stared right back.

"_So that's my cousin's son." _Toushi though_, "He kind of looks like her. But what's up with the whisker marks?" _He also noticed the seal on the infant's belly.

"Hey, Sarutobi?" he asked the Third. "What's the boy's name?"

Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe, and let the smoke out. As he did so, Toshiro just finished his seal, and the large sigil spread across the floor, walls and ceiling.

"There." Toshiro said. "We're amongst ourselves for a while."

"The boy's name is Naruto." Sarutobi said, answering Toushi's question.

"Naruto, huh?" Toushi said, handing Naruto back to Toshiro. "I assume it refers to the whirlpool, and not the ramen toping."

"Kushina did say that it wasn't the later." Sarutobi said. "Now, we've got serious things to talk about here. As you probably guessed, with Minato dead…"

"You're back at being the Hokage." Toushi finished.

"Yes." Sarutobi said. "At least, until and if a suitable person, a younger one preferably, can be found. I've called for an emergency council gathering to deal with the current situation. The boy will most likely come up. So is your… experiment, as you call it. Speaking of which, you still intend to go through with it?"

"You bet I am." Toushi said. "I am not giving it up now, of all things. But first, just to confirm, is the Kyuubi really sealed inside this kid?"

"Yes." Sarutobi Nodded.

"I guess it's destined to get passed down to Uzumakis, huh? How does the seal look to you, Tosh?"

"I had a quick look at it earlier, and, well, considering it was made on the fly and under what amounts to the worst conditions possible, I'd say Minato did one heck of a job. Only, the seal is, well, not quite complete. There's a chance that with time, it could wear off. It'll probably require quite a bit of monitoring to keep the Kyuubi under control and for its presence to not adversely affect Naruto. We might even have to perform a re-sealing in the future."

"Yes." Sarutobi said. "And that brings me to my first concern. As the Uzumaki clan, even in its diminished state, has the most knowledge of the sealing techniques involved, the boy should be entrusted into their care. However, since you and your clan, Toshiro, have decided to tag along with Toushi's venture, I'd be worried about this boy's protection."

"You think I can't properly protect a little kid?" Toushi said, his eyebrows rising.

"No. But isn't a little kid we're talking about, but a jinchuuriki." Sarutobi said. "Our best defenses were penetrated by an unknown and powerful individual, who knew Kushina was the keeper of the Kyuubi, had quite a bit of knowledge about the Bijuu and seals, and, if my suspicions are correct, possesses the sharingan!"

"Waow." Toushi said. "Sounds like the real Maccoy there, Sarutobi. And I assume the reason you're concerned is because you believe this bad-ass SOB is still alive?"

"Yes. Or if he's dead, his body was made to disappear, and one way or the other, he might have had allies. Someone out there might very well still be after the Kyuubi. "

"That would be a reasonable assumption." Toshiro said.

"OK!" Toushi said. "So maybe there's a real _piece of work _out there that wants to get his hands on the Kyuubi. Big deal! I'm no pushover myself, Sarutobi. When I say I'm gone protect something, you know I will. And this kid is more closely related to me than he is to Toshiro. Because, even if I'm not an Uzumaki by name, even if I can't do a Fuinjutsu to same my life, I sure am an Uzumaki by blood, if my vitality and that late-ass Bloodline I have are any indication."

"Yes, I'm well aware of your battle prowess, Toushi. I did read the reports that landed on my desk once in a while. And I'm not questioning your blood-ties to the boy, or your dedication to protect someone. I only want to be sure you're understanding the risks here. It'll take years for your village to reach Konoha's level in power, even after this attack." Sarutobi took another drag of his pipe. "So, would you be ready to protect this boy, even if it might lead to the destruction of your Clan, Toshiro, or your village and comrades, Toushi?"

"The Uzumaki Clan have cared for and protected the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi for well over a century." Toshiro said. "We always understood the risks involved. Beside, whatever you may say, Lord Third, I feel partly responsible for what happened to Konoha tonight. I can't seriously ask you to take on that burden. And even if I'd wanted to stay in this village with my clan, the village would still be in danger."

Sarutobi nodded, and then turned to Toushi.

"Like he says." Toushi said, pointing to Toshiro. "And I'm swearing this to you right now, I will protect this boy, my men, my village, and this _country_, against anyone who would endanger it!"

"Very well." Sarutobi said. "I have a few things I plan to announce to the council. First, I believe it would be better to keep the identity of Naruto's father a secret, for the boy's safety. As you know, Minato had many enemies. He and Kushina had kept their marriage a secret for the same reason."

"What about the Namikaze estate?" Toshiro asked.

"As Naruto is the last survivor of that family, all assets will be held in trust until he's 16. As he'll be in another village, there might be complications, but that bridge will be crossed when he'll get there."

"Alright." Toushi said. "Anything else?"

"I will do my best to keep Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki a secret." Sarutobi said. "You should probably do the same."

Toushi nodded.

"Well, then, let's not keep the council waiting much longer." Sarutobi said, then got up, picked up the Hokage's robes that were draped on a chair nearby, and put them on. After Toshiro had cancelled the Seal, all three men plus baby Naruto left the office. As they did so, Toushi sniffed the air.

"Tosh, I think your jacket is going to need a serious wash." Toushi said. "I think your youngest clan member just did a number two in it."

The seal-master sweat dropped. "Yes, I had noticed, thank you."

End of chapter 2

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**Well, I guess that's about it for chapter two. Next chapter should be the meeting with the Konoha council. **

**Please leave a review. If you have any suggestions, please let me know about them. I'm all ears. **

**Until next time, peace out!**

**-Stan**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey readers! It's time for the third chapter of **_**Ember: the other hidden village of Fire Country!**_

**In this chapter, Toushi will be facing the Konoha's council. **

**You know, it isn't easy to fill up an entire village with (mostly) OCs. So, I have decided to call upon you readers: If you got an original character/characters you'd like to see in this story and would let me borrow, please feel free to submit him, her or **_**it**_**, either in a PM or a review. If you wish to submit a character, please follow the following format;**

* * *

**Name: ****** (if you can, keep the names as Japanese sounding as possible)**

**Hair Collor and length: *******

**Eye Collor:*******

**Age: *********

**Favored Clothing: basically what they usually wear. Include jewely if any. **

**Other physical traits of note, if any: For example, a scar or a tattoo. **

**Occupation: Meaning either civilian or Ninja**

**Ninja rank, if any: *********

**Weapons of choice, if any: *********

**Favored Chakra Element, if any: *********

**Bloodline limit, if any: No Sharingan, Byakugan, or Rinnegan. All others from canon, and any original, are fair game. **

**Notable Jutsus this person uses, if any: *******

**Background info: Where does this guy comes from? Is he/she a wanted criminal somewhere? **

**Personality description: How does this person act in general? Is he lazy? A Prankster? Always dead serious? A pervert? An airhead? Etc. Does he/she have a motto, or a specific life philosophy? Does he/she have a definite goal in life?**

* * *

**Let your imagination run wild, guys! I will consider every character submission thoroughly, no matter how outrageous or mundane the character is! I'll PM everyone who made a submission to let you know if I'll include your characters/characters in the story.**

**Now, enough of that. Let's begin with the chapter proper! **

**I don't own Naruto. Comprede, senor?**

* * *

**Konoha's gate**

Most of Toushi's 'brigade' where waiting for their leader just outside what remained of the Village's gate. One of them was a young woman with knee length chocolate-brown hair held in a pony tail, and yellow, lazy eyes that had a definite spark of mischievousness in them. She was wearing black cargo pants, black skin tight shirt, with an open red jacket over that. She had a large sword that looked like an oversized machete strapped across her back with a thick, brown leather belt.

This woman was currently leaning against the Village's wall, and was taking sips from a large jug of alcohol.

"Ha, Sasha!"

The woman, whose name was Sasha Mouko, turned around to see a jacketless Toshiro Uzumaki walking towards her with a blanket bundle in on arm, and a bulging plastic bag in the other.

"Hey, Tosh!" She said with a smile. "Want a drink?"

"No thanks." The seal master said, "Say, err, can you take care of this little guy for me?"

Toshiro handed the bundle to Sasha, who then saw its content: A sleeping, blonde baby.

Sasha sighed. "And here I thought I'd be free from babysitting for a day or so."

Ever since her mother had passed away half a year ago, Sasha had been taking care of her 9 months old baby brother.

"Whose is it, anyway?" She asked as she looked at the baby.

"He's Kushina's." Toshiro said simply."His name is Naruto."

"….I see. Does that mean she's..?" Sasha trailed off.

Toshiro nodded. "She was killed during the attack. Toushi is meeting with the council right now. I'm going to head there, but I couldn't bring this guy with me."

"True. A baby would be kinda out of place there." Sasha said, cradling Naruto in her arms.

"Yes, there's that. There are other reasons, but I can't talk about them right now. Now, if anybody that's not me or Toushi tries to take him from you, don't hand him over no matter what, you hear me?"

Sasha nodded. "You got it."

"Good." Toshiro said. "I'll, errr, leave his here for now." He added, putting the bag on the ground.

"What's in there?"

"Hem, it's my coat." Toshiro said sheepishly. "He went and did a number two in it. I tried to wash it off, but I was only partially successful. I probably won't be able to wash it until we get back, so…"

That got a smirk out of Sasha. "Yeah. I don't think you'll find an open Laundromat around here for a while. Now go, before Boss-san beheads half the council. I'll watch over this guy."

As Toshiro dashed off, Sasha looked at Naruto's sleeping face.

"So you're an orphan too, hun?" She whispered. "You've just been born, and you've already been dealt one crappy hand." She gazed upwards into the night sky. "Well, I sure hope it gets better for you, kid."

* * *

**Outside Konoha's hospital, temporary tent. **

Suzaku Kasei, Toushi's younger brother, was currently lying in a camp bed, under a speedily erected tent in front of the Konoha Hospital, and was afflicted by a severe Chakra depletion. In all likelihoods', he'd be bed ridden for a week.

He was slightly shorter than his brother, and he had a much leaner frame. His hair, as spiky and red as his older sibling's, was kept much shorter. He was currently naked from the waist up: Most of his clothes had either been burned off or shredded to bits during the fight.

He had stayed behind in Konoha, to act as some sort of an ambassador for his brother while he was setting up his village.

He grunted as he opened his eyes. Not only had he almost died trying to slow down the Kyuubi, he had lost his favored pair of sunglasses! They where an ultra rare, hand-made, limited edition! You couldn't find any more like them, for love OR money!

And the Konoha mooks who had found him had dropped him in front of the tent like a sack of potatoes. Not cool, Konoha! Not cool at all!

"So this is where they threw ya!" Suzaku heard a familiar voice say from the side. He struggled to turn his head in the speaker's direction.

"Hey, Jill!" Suzaku said weakly. "How's it hangin'?"

"It's hanging great, all things considered. You, thought, look like crap."

Suzaku hadn't taken the time to look over himself, but he was sure Jillian was right.

"Thanks!" Suzaku said, trying, and failing, to smile. "Where is the boss?"

"He's meeting with the Konoha's revered Council as we speak. I'd wager a bottle of sake they're doing their very best to antagonize him as we speak."

Jillian was, in fact, right. Mostly.

* * *

**Council meeting chamber**

"…and yet," A civilian council member said, toping of a lengthy allocution, "Despite all your talk about not feeling any ill will towards Konoha, you'd still abandon it in its hour of need!"

"The point we are trying to make, Kasei," And other council member said, "is that we'd be ready to forget your past behavior and comments, if you'd only give up you're foolish pursuit. Konoha needs you."

As the councilmen where talking, Toushi, standing in the middle of the room, had stayed silent, and kept his eyes closed. He opened them.

"Need me!?" He said, sounding incredulous. "You don't really need _me_. You need my _reputation_, to keep the other villages from pouncing on you while you're down! "

True. Toushi was the only ninja in fire country that could claim to be as feared, and respected, as Minato was. The "Butcher of Whirlpool" had practically become a genuine bogeyman over the years.

He looked on the faces of every members. "It haunts you, doesn't it? The idea that your enemies might band together, just to see you destroyed? I don't blame you folks. And I wouldn't blame _them _either for trying to do that, with the way this Village has lorded itself over all the others over the years."

"How dare you…!" another civilian council started to get up, but he was beat by Shikaku Nara.

"We all know how you feel by now, Kasei. We all have a lot to deal with, so just answer the original question: Will you, and those who follow you, join the Village of Konoha?"

Toushi was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Yes…"

Many of the council members went up and started exclaiming such thing as "Finally!", or, "About damns time!", but they were cut short but Toushi's raised hand. He continued.

"…on one condition: " His raised hand turned into a pointing finger, which he pointed at Sarutobi," You send the Third back to his retirement, AND MAKE _ME_ HOKAGE!"

"What!?" was the general response. A brouhaha erupted, and Sarutobi, for the first time since the meeting began, had to intervene to reestablish order. When the chamber became calm once again, Toushi continued.

"From your reactions, I don't think I need a vote to know this council's decision would be an overwhelming 'no'."

"Of course." Another civilian council member said. "The first thing you'd do if oyu became Hokage, would be to abolish the Civilian Council!"

"The same goes for the clan rights thath have been given to us by the first Hokage!" Fugaku Uchiha added.

"_Restrict _the clan rights, not abolish them, Fugaku." Toushi said. "But to you, and most of the other clan heads, there is no real difference, is there? Well, it seems to me you don't need me all that much. You're privilege are obviously more important to you. So, that resolves the whole mater. I can't rejoin the village. And I'll tell you the reason why. It's not that I want to become Hokage all that much. No, it's because I've got something all of you can't ever hope to gain, and that is my men's respect and trust. Believe me, most of them would get fed up with this council, and the way this village is run, very damn quick."

Toushi got a piece of paper out of his coat. "But don't worry. Even thought I won't be part of this _Village _anymore, I'll still be part of this _country. _And I'll respect all the clauses of the agreement I and the Fourth made with the Fire Lord…"

"For which we weren't consulted!" A council member shouted.

"…including the Mutual Aid Clause." Toushi finished, ignoring the outburst. "If either village are attacked, both are attacked. I plan to honor this. I hope the same goes for you. So, now you've got my answer. As Nara mentioned before, we all have a lot of things to do, so I'm going to bid you farewell."

He and Toshiro, who had been standing at the side silently, turned towards the door, but they didn't get far before another voice spoke up.

"I've heard that there was an infant found at the site where the Fourth fought the Kyuubi."

This was Danzo Shimura, one of Sarutobi's old teammates. Toushi had found it curious that the old war-hawk had stayed silent, but then again, he probably wasn't very interested in keeping him in the village: He didn't care for a ninja he couldn't control.

Toushi whipped around. The Third was looking at his old teammate over his shoulder.

"Is that true, lord Hokage?"

Sarutobi sighed. "It is." Danzo was about to continue, but Sarutobi was faster. "The child, named Naruto, is the son of Kushina Uzumaki, who died while helping the Fourth fight off the Kyuubi. As to why he was there, it would seem she gave birth to him right there at some point before dying. "

"_Nice bullshit spewing here, Sarutobi." _Toushi though.

"Excuse me, but how would a 9 months pregnant kunochi be of any help during a fight?" One of the civilian councilors asked.

"Because she had the same bloodline limit as I do." Toushi said. "She used it to immobilize the Kyuubi long enough for the Fourth to destroy it." He then decided to pile up on the BS pile. "The effort was probably too much, and in all likelihoods was what ultimately killed her."

"Ha, yes, that thing with the chains." Chôza Akimichi said, nodding.

"And where is this child, this Naruto, now?" Inochi Yamanaka asked.

"He's in the hand of my men, if you really want to know." Toushi said. "And I intend to take him with us, and entrust him to the Uzumaki clan."

"I seem to remember that Kushina Uzumaki, "Danzo spoke again", when you came out with you _plan, _had declared that she wished to remain a Konoha Kunochi, essentially breaking off with her clan, at least legally. That makes her son a Konoha citizen, and what you're doing with him, tantamount to a kidnapping. And if she really helped he fourth to kill the Kyuubi, that makes the boy's mother a hero of this village!"

"_Ho, Danzo."_ Toushi thought. "_You morally-versatile old fuck. You'd use a dead woman's words to get what you want."_

That brought up for Toushi the question of how much Danzo really knew. Probably not much. He was sure the old War-Hawk _suspected_ quite a bit, however. And it wouldn't be very hard for him to rally enough support from the rest of the council, who would gladly jump on the wagon just to piss Toushi off. As far as he was concerned, Toushi didn't care even if they portrayed him as some baby snatcher. However, if they went to the fire lord with this, the man might just listen to them and decide Toushi had crossed a line.

Lucky for Toushi, Sarutobi acted.

"As good as you intentions might be, Danzo, I believe a child's place should be with his family. Furthermore, this boy's father is unknown, and he has no family ties to anyone in the village. That means he would end up in one of our orphanages, whom after tonight, are likely to have their hands full. So that's out of the question. I hereby declare that Naruto Uzumaki, will be lawfully able to stay with the Uzumaki clan, wherever said clan sets home, as long as it's within the fire country. Do you pledge to take care of the Boy, Toshiro-san?" Sarutobi asked the sealmaster.

"Upon my clan's name and honor, yes, lord third."

"Then let this be the end of that."

The Third turned around, and stared at Danzo, basically daring him to say somehting. His old Teammate begrudgingly sat down.

"Well then, we will take our leave." Toushi said, and the two of them left the room.

* * *

As they exited the building, Toshiro spoke up. "Well, that went relatively well. Good thing you kept your composure."

"Eh!" Toushi said. "I learned the hard way that losing my cool usually don't lead to good results. Especially with this bunch. Anyway, let's get going! My wife and I got to find a name for our second daughter!"

* * *

**End of chapter 3**

**Well, that's about it for now! **

**So, little Naruto is going to have a real home and something resembling a family! **

**Next few chapters are going to be dedicated to Naruto growing up, and more character introductions, eventually leading up to his academy graduation. Which, this time with teachers that take time to teach him properly, should go a whole lot smoother. **

**Please leave a review, guys! Until next time, peace out!**

**-Stan**


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